Brazos Grows

Richardson Farms Buying Group

nathanael — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:34:41 +0000

Richardson farms is starting a local buying group providing delivery of beef, pork, chicken, turkey, duck, lamb, eggs, whole wheat flour and soon to have rabbit. Here are some highlights:

All of their animals are pasture based
No growth hormones
No subtherapeutic antibiotics (the use of antibiotics for anything except for sickness)
Animals raised compassionately
All meats are USDA inspected

The buyers group will have access to all meats of their choice and quantity (provided they have enough). Once Richardson Farm has $100.00 worth of orders Mike will coordinate a delivery of the meat to the BCS (either to your home or a convenient location).

To learn more about Richardson farms and to see a list of their products and pricing go to www.richardsonfarms.com

For anyone who may have questions or would like to enroll, please contact Mike Richardson at 979-676-1864 or email @ richardsonfarms@ymail.com

By purchasing meats and eggs from Richardson Farms, the customer will get to form a relationship with the farmer/rancher, receive quality, fresh, flavorful and safe food from a local producer. Buying local food preserves the small family farm. Right now, there is no limit to the number of persons who can participate in the buying group.

Richardson farms is located in Northwestern Milam county. The current farm was purchased in 2000 by Jim Richardson. When the farm was acquired, the acreage was being farmed in cotton and corn by a tenant farmer. During the first year, we reclaimed many old barns and put the farm into action. Mike’s father, Jim Richardson, is a veterinarian with 30 plus years of experience. Before coming to Milam County, Jim worked in Cedar Park, TX, practicing small animal medicine. Before moving to Austin, he was a partner in a mixed animal practice in Bowie, TX. Jim’s passion continued for the land and animals was extended to. When he is not farming, Mike works as a firefighter/paramedic for the Bryan fire department. The family farm is run by Mike, Mike’s father, step-mother, Kay, and step brother, Lance. With 197 acres Richardson farms provides compassionate care for their animals. All animals are permitted to “act according to their species.” Pigs are allowed to be pigs and so on! They believe that this compassionate care allows our animals to thrive while they are on the farm….resulting in quality, flavor and appeal.

Richardson farms was featured on the cover of Edible Austin’s Spring 2009 issue!

September 25th Cox Family Farm Tour

hank — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:15:51 +0000

The Brazos Locavores will be kicking off our Fall 2010 farm tours with a trip to the Cox Family Farm. This is a new farm for our group to tour! The Cox Family grows a large variety of healthy food in a natural and humane way. During this tour, you will be able to learn about their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) garden share, where you can sign up to receive weekly vegetables. They also have a Cow Share (for people interested in raw milk), grass fed beef, pork, and eggs!

Check out their website for more information: http://www.coxfamilyfarm.blogspot.com/

This will be a great Saturday afternoon farm tour and a great opportunity to support a growing local farm!

When: Saturday September 25, 3-5 pm

Where: Cox Family Farm 12464 Long Trussel Rd Bryan, TX 77808

RSVP: brazoslocavores@gmail.com before Thursday September 23

Carpool group will leave at 2:30 pm from the Brazos Natural Foods parking lot 4303 S. Texas Ave. in Bryan, Texas.

ALSO . . . mark your calendar.

Here are the dates for our upcoming tours:

October 24, 1-5pm – Wild Type Ranch (Grass fed beef) http://www.wildtyperanch.com/ – 49 miles near Cameron
November 21, 1-5pm – Home Sweet Farm (CSA and farmers market) http://www.homesweetfarm.com/ – 58 miles near Brenham
December 5, 1-6pm – Brazos Valley Pulletpalooza (learn about home chicken raising) – College Station and Bryan
January 30, 1-4 pm – Millican Farms (Tomatoes and CSA) http://millicanfarms.com/ – 10 miles South of College Station
February 27, 1-6pm – Blue Heron Farm (Goat cheese) http://www.blueherontexas.com/ – 46 miles in Field Store, TX north of Hempstead

July 20th Business Meeting

nathanael — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:06:54 +0000

The Brazos Locavores will be meeting on Tuesday July 20th, 7pm at The Village Cafe in Downtown Bryan. This meeting will provide our group an opportunity to plan our tours for the upcoming year. If you have ideas for places you would like to tour or ideas for what would make our tours successful please let us know (brazoslocavores@gmail.com).
The meeting is open to all so feel free to come out enjoy a nice meal and local food enthusiasm!

The Village Cafe is a great restaurant that celebrates local food. Located at 210 West 26th Street Bryan, TX 77803.

Our next farm tour will be planned for September. Between now and then you might want to check out these events:

Fourth of July Locavore BBQ
Date: Sunday, July 4, 2010
Time: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Location: The Village Downtown
Meat sourced from Wild Type Ranch

The Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail Festival
Messina Hof in Bryan and Retreat Hill in Navasota both have events planned for July and August.
Messina Hof starts their 5 weekend 10th Annual Harvest Festival July 16th. Check out this link: http://www.messinahof.com/harvest10.php for more information!

Retreat Hill Winery & Vineyard (http://www.retreathill.com/) is celebrating their first anniversary with a concert by Slick Hiway on July 31, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. during the last weekend of the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail, Harvest Trail. (www.texasbluebonnetwinetrail.com/)

We’re on Twitter

nathanael — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:16:54 +0000

Well, all the cool kids are doing it, so we figured we’d join up and get tweeting. You can follow us here: http://twitter.com/brazosgrows. Spread the word and perhaps retweet us when we say something.

June Garden Tour

hank — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:04:19 +0000

Brazos Locavores will be hosting a tour of three local gardens on Sunday June 27 from 4:00 p.m. until about 7:00 p.m. We are starting later than usual due to the summer heat. We will be visiting two home gardens and the Texas A&M Community Garden. Come on out and see what others are growing and how they are growing! If you don’t have space for you own garden but still want to garden then a plot at the Community Garden is just what you need.

The trip will leave at 4:00 pm from the Brazos Natural Foods parking lot (4303 S. Texas Ave. Bryan, TX 77802). RSVP requested to Nathanael at brazoslocavores@gmail.com

May 23rd Field Trip

hank — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:03:45 +0000

Brazos Locavores will be hosting a trip to King’s Orchard near Plantersville, TX , Sunday May 23 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. King’s Orchard specializes in “pick your own” fruits and vegetables! In late May they should have strawberries and blackberries available. Blueberries may also be ready by then. The GPS/Mapping location for King’s Orchard is 11282 Finke Road, Todd Mission, TX (no zip code).

The trip will leave at 1pm from the Brazos Natural Foods parking lot (4303 S. Texas Ave. Bryan, TX 77802). If you wish to drive to King’s Orchard we will meet there at 2pm. RSVP requested to Nathanael at brazoslocavores@gmail.com

Visit their website at: http://www.kingsorchard.com/

April 24th Field Trip

hank — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:39:00 +0000

Brazos Locavores will be hosting a trip to Sand Creek Farm near Cameron on SATURDAY, April 24 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sand Creek Farm specializes in producing grassfed, grain free Raw Milk. Sand Creek Farm is a diverse operation providing eggs, beef, pork, and produce! Please note that this field trip is on SATURDAY!

The trip will leave at 1:00 pm from the Brazos Natural Foods parking lot (4303 S. Texas Ave. Bryan, TX 77802). If you are driving to the farm plan to arrive at 2:00 pm. RSVP requested to Nathanael at brazoslocavores@gmail.com

Visit their website at : http://www.sandcreekfarm.net/

March 28th Field Trip

nathanael — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:52:56 +0000

This month’s farm tour will be to Twin Creeks Ranch. The Alongi family has been raising cattle near Franklin since 2004 and wants to share with us how they do it. If you are interested in buying local/sustainable beef this is the trip for you.

Join us on March 28th at the Ranch around 2pm or at Brazos Natural Foods (4303 S. Texas Ave. Bryan, TX 77802) at 1pm to carpool. Please RSVP to Nathanael Proctor at brazoslocavores@gmail.com or 979-412-1375 by March 24.

Check out their website at http://www.twincreeksranch.biz

February 21st Locavore Tour

nathanael — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:28:44 +0000

Do you know where to find local, sustainably-produced meats? Join the Brazos Locavores for their February field trip and discover for yourself how and where sustainable beef, chicken, and pork are raised as we visit Yonder Way Farm in Brenham TX.

Situated 45 minutes south of Bryan-College Station in Washington County, Yonder Way Farm began in 2006 when owners Jason and Lynsey Kramer were looking for the simple life; to farm the way nature intended. Yonder Way Farm is applying to become the very FIRST certified organic chicken processing facility in the state of Texas. We will get to tour the newly finished chicken processing facility and take a hay ride tour of the farm.

Here’s the Scoop:

What: Brazos Locavore Field Trip to Yonder Way Farms

Who: Everyone is invited and be sure to bring the kids!

When: Sunday, February 21st (1:00 – 5:00 PM)

Where: Meet up at Brazos Natural Foods to carpool out to the farm

RSVP: To Nathanael at brazoslocavores@gmail.com by Wednesday, Feb 17 (I need to prepare the farm for the number of attendees)

For more information about Yonder Way Farm, visit their website (http://yonderwayfarm.com/).

See you there!

Fruit tree sale

Andrea Fox — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:18:13 +0000

The TAMU Holistic Teaching Garden is hosting its fruit tree sale on Friday, January 29th and Saturday, January 30th. The sale starts at 9 am and goes till 3 pm, or when they sell out. Fruit trees, grapes and blackberries, all selected for this area, will be offered.

Location:
Horticulture-Forestry Science Building on West Campus

See their website for more information:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/holisticgarden/

Thanks to Heath Vesely, Plant Sale Manager (TAMU ‘10) for sharing the info!